A. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an apparatus for removing the base of a broken light bulb from a screw-type jacket or socket.
It is quite common for an incandescent screw-type light bulb to break while still remaining in the socket or jacket. This can be caused by use of an improper wattage bulb, one too strong for the fixture in which it was placed, or by the use of the incorrect type of bulb, such as use of a variable wattage bulb in a one-wattage fixture. Such improper usage usually results in the bursting of the fragile glass bulb. Screw-type incandescent bulbs are fastened to and removed from the socket by rotating the glass bulb portion. Such rotation cannot occur when the glass bulb has shattered. Therefore, there is a need for a device to enable safe removal of the base of the broken light bulb.
B. Description of The Prior Art
Methods for removal of a broken light bulb base include physically clearing away the remnants of the broken glass and attempting to rotate the base with one's fingers or by using a device not intended for that purpose, such as a pliers. Prior art devices for this purpose have been fashioned, as described in Greene, U.S. Pat. No. 3,797,055 issued Mar. 19, 1974, Hough, U.S. Pat. No. 4,485,701 issued Dec. 4, 1984, and Farber, U.S. Pat. No. 4,907,477 issued Mar. 13, 1990. Greene and Hough each disclose light bulb base removal tools which have tips with flanges for inserting into the light bulb base. Farber discloses a light bulb base removal apparatus having a tip with serrated edges. Each of these prior art tools share the same disadvantage--the roughness of the flanges and the serrated edges can cause the broken base to deteriorate further, creating metal fragments and causing difficulty in base removal. Also, since each rough flange has only one point of contact with the base, the tool has the tendency to slip off the base.
The light bulb base removal tool of my invention deals with this problem by having a tip which is smooth and curved, following the shape of the base to be removed.